Progress at B & H, Starr Eyes Gansevoort, Meat Hook Sandwiches at Stumptown, and More Intel

— B & H Dairy — the wonderful lunch counter that closed because of the Second Avenue gas explosion — is one step closer to reopening. EV Grieve reports that owners Fawzy Abdelwahed and Ola Smigielsk got the $28,000 fire suppression system that the city requested, and the DOB gave them the thumbs up to install the machinery. After the system is in place, the restaurant will need to get approval from the FDNY, DOH, and ConEd.  Although this is all good news, Abdelwahed tells The Grieve: "As each day goes by, I cannot pay the rent if we are closed. Two more weeks and I cannot afford it anymore...Two more weeks and I’m done. That’s it."

— Fresh off the openings of Upland and The Clocktower, mega restaurateur Stephen Starr is planning to expand his New York portfolio with a new Meatpacking District restaurant:

Nick Solares

According to the latest CB2 agenda, Starr is vying for a space directly across the street from the entrance to The Whitney at 100 Gansevoort. No word yet on what he's got planned for this space, but Starr knows a thing or two about the neighborhood having operated Morimoto and Buddakan in the area for the last decade. Starr's team is slated to go before the CB2 SLA licensing committee next week. Stay tuned for more details on this new space, as they become available.

— Martha Stewart toasted the $353 million sale of her company by eating an entire plate of French fries at Cafe Luxembourg last week.

— The opening of Oleanders in Williamsburg has sparked some renewed interest in '70s "fern bars," where preppy people would drink sweet cocktails amidst frilly plants and Tiffany glass. According to the New Yorker, the trend actually originated from T.G.I. Friday's, which restaurateur Alan Stillman first opened on the Upper East Side in 1965, as a ploy to meet single women.

— Last night, the original location of Parm was serving this atypically short menu:

A tipster writes in:

Cryptically short menu at Parm mulberry—no placemats, just chalkboard. They also didn't have a ton of the drinks we used to get—sodas etc. Felt weirdly like it was shutting down. Bartender told us that menu has been like this for three weeks, encouraged us to visit their other locations.

The Torrisi Team just opened a major new location of Parm in Battery Park City.

— Greenpoint's Capri Social Club doesn't feel like a New York City bar, which is why hipsters and location scouts love it so much.

— Andrew Cuomo and Sandra Lee visited Michael White's upstate restaurant at Bedford Post Inn over the weekend.

— Here's a dark tale from nightlife land: Page Six reports that Happy Ending owner/manager Teddy Perweiler is banned from entering his own club following a nasty fight with his girlfriend. Perweiler allegedly assaulted her in the kitchen in May, and according to a Page Six source, he was charged with "harassment and criminal mischief."

— And finally, on a much lighter note, Meat Hook sandwiches are now available at the Greenwich Village location of Stumptown:

Greg Morabito